This application claims the benefit of the Nov. 30, 2005 filing date of U.S. Provisional Application 60/740,678 (NV 3589-81) the entirety of which is incorporated by reference. This application is also related to concurrently filed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/565,335 entitled “An Applicator Cartridge For An Electrokinetic Delivery System For Self Administration Of Medicaments”, the entirety of which application is incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates generally to the electrokinetic mass transfer of substances into tissue, such as an apparatus for electrokinetically delivering substances, e.g., a medicament to a treatment site on skin. The invention particularly relates to a coupling-locking mechanism between a cartridge carrying the medicament and a hand-held or finger mounted device that releases the cartridge and provides electrical power to the cartridge.
Electrokinetic delivery of medicaments for applying medication locally through an individual's skin to a treatment site is known. One type of electrokinetic delivery mechanism is iontophoresis, i.e., the application of an electric field to the skin to enhance the skin's permeability. An iontophoresis device delivers various ionic agents, e.g., ions of salts or other drugs, to the treatment site. In certain situations, iontophoretic, transdermal and transmucal cutaneous delivery techniques have obviated the need for hypodermic injection of many medicaments thereby eliminating the concomitant problem of trauma, pain and risk of infection to the individual typically associated with hypodermic injection.
Other types of electrokinetic delivery mechanisms include electroosmosis, electroporation, electromigration and endosmose, any or all of which are more generally known as electrotransport, electromolecular transport or iontophoretic methods, or more generally known as electrokinetic methods. Prior electrokinetic devices for delivering medicaments to a treatment site were typically cumbersome, bulky, costly and oftentimes required the presence of an individual at a doctor's office or treatment center and use of medical professionals to administer the medicament. More recently, devices have been developed for the private self administration of medicaments or for diagnostic application by the individual at non-medical or non-professional facilities. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,792,306 discloses an electrokinetic delivery device which includes a housing containing a power source, electronics and a counter electrode, the device being shaped and configured for releasable securement to an individual's finger and terminating in an applicator head having an active electrode. By applying the head to the skin overlying the treatment site and with the medicament or a medicament and a carrier therefor carried by the applicator head, the medicament may be electrokinetically delivered to the treatment site. There has developed a need for a disposable applicator cartridge which can be readily and easily manufactured at low cost and which sealingly contains the medicament whereby the cartridge can be releasably secured to the cartridge applicator device by a locking element and released, preferably ejected from a finger mounted electrokinetic medicament delivery device.